Low Test Scores Mean Changes for Franklin Elementary

As a result of a drop in state-required test scores, Altadena's has been put into a federal improvement program that comes with required changes that could include the school's personnel, curriculum or number of days in session.

Newly released Academic Performance Index (API) figures showed that last year, , with among the most improved district-wide.

However, one of the schools that showed the biggest dip was Franklin, which dropped by 41 points in the 2010-11 school year from the year before.

According to a letter sent by district officials to parents, the school "must revise its school plan" and make at least one of the following changes:

• Replace school staff (may include principal)
• Institute and fully implement a new curriculum
• Decrease management authority at the school level
• Appoint an outside expert to advise the school
• Extend the school day or year for the school
• Restructure the internal organizational structure of the school

Plans to change the school's curriculum are already under way, according to Kathy Onoye, PUSD's executive director of elementary schools.

At the forefront of the changes will be better instruction in English proficiency and a classification of students on the basis of their existing language schools, Onoye said.

Franklin is a school that has inherent challenges.  According to 2009-10 state figures, about 30 percent of the school is made up of student who grew up speaking a language other than English; 85 percent require federal assistance for meals.

Still, those numbers are very similar to those of Altadena Elementary, which improved its API scores by 63 points to a total of 818, compared to Franklin's 745.  Other schools, like , that have similar number of English language learners did score similarly, though they showed improvement over previous lower scores, rather than dropping as Franklin did.

Please check back later this week for further discussion of challenges the district faces at Franklin and elsewhere, as well as a more in-depth look at the success at Altadena Elementary.